he question, very difficult in his time, of finding a
method of determining the longitude at sea (see the work of AMORETTI
quoted below, p. 38). Of his imaginary voyage he has written a long
narrative, of which a _Spanish_ copy with some drawings and maps was
found in a library at Milan. The narrative was published in Italian
and French translations by the superintendent of the library,
Chevalier CARLO AMORETTI,[341] who besides added to the work a number
of his own learned notes, which however do not give evidence of
experience in Arctic waters. The same narrative has since been
published in English by J. BARROW (_A Cronological History of
Voyages into the Arctic Regions_, &c., London, 1818 App. p. 24.) The
greater part of Maldonado's report consists of a detailed plan as to
the way in which the new sea route would be used and fortified by
the Spanish-Portuguese government.[342] The voyage itself is referred
to merely in passing. Maldonado says that, in the beginning of March
he sailed from Newfoundland along the north coast of America in a
westward direction. Cold, storm, and darkness, were at first very
inconvenient for navigation, but at all events he reached without
difficulty "Anian Sound," which separates Asia from America. This is
described in detail. Here various ships were met with prepared to
sail through the sound, laden with Chinese goods. The crews appeared
to be Russian or Hanseatic. Conversation was carried on with them in
Latin. They stated that they came from a very large town, situated a
little more than a hundred leagues from the sound. In the middle of
June Maldonado returned by the way he came to the Atlantic, and on
this occasion too the voyage was performed without the least
difficulty. The heat at sea during the return journey was as great
as when it was greatest in Spain, and meeting with ice is not
mentioned. The banks of the river which falls into the haven at
Anian Sound (according to Amoretti, identical with Behring's
Straits) were overgrown with very large trees, bearing fruit all the
year round among the animals met with in the regions seals are
mentioned, but also two kinds of swine, buffaloes, &c. All these
absurdities show that the whole narrative of the voyage was
fictitious, having been probably written with the view of thereby
giving more weight to the proposal to send out a north-west
expedition from Portugal, and in the full belief that the supposed
sound actually existed, and tha